Exhausted Teacher Urges Parents To Stop Being 'Bizarrely Lenient' On Their Kids

Everyone has an opinion in the long going debate on the best ways to raise children. And for good reason; there is no one formula to raising well-behaved kids. One argument that is often thrown around in the last few years is that kids are entitled. It seems they lack basic skills to be able to deal with the world around them.

One middle school teacher wrote a letter imploring parents to stop their "bizarrely lenient attitude towards disciplining children." She is realizing that the way parents seem to be approaching discipline is creating a more difficult working environment for not only her, but many teachers.

After realizing that she was absolutely exhausted by the end of the school year, Erin Weigle Axson needed to figure out why. As a mother of three herself, she knows that exhaustion is apart of life. But she was feeling drained in a way that didn't feel the same.

That's when she finally found the root: the attitudes of the children she's teaching. Middle schoolers are probably some of the most emotionally exhausting kids out there. But Axson noticed that this was even more prevalent. And she definitely isn't the only one. The letter was shared via Love What Matters, and many people chimed in with their agreement.

"Not all of you are going to agree with what I’ve written. Some of you will be downright mad after you read it."
#LoveWhatMatters

Axson argues that in addition to being overly lenient with discipline, parents are also giving in to all of their children's demands. Meaning that children don't know how to handle hearing the word no, because they generally don't hear it. She blames these parents specifically for the ills their children are causing society.

She also lists these children and subsequently, their parents as one of the reasons people aren't going into the teaching profession, or why many teachers don't seem to last long as teachers.

And while she does make an excellent point there, one will argue that teachers are growing increasingly frustrated with things much bigger than children's behavior. We've seen an increase in teacher strikes nationwide due to things like low pay, lack of updated materials, and increasing class size.

Credit: iStock / Wavebreakmedia

In the letter, Erin Axson creates a way that parents can help support teachers. Much of it centers on taking more personal responsibility for their children, which is a totally valid request.

"I just ask — beg of you — to trust me, support me, and work with me, not against me. I need you to have my back. I need you to give me the respect I deserve," Axson begs at the the end of the letter. It's true that teachers and parents need to work together for the sake of the children.

Hopefully, we'll all be able to reach some sort of compromise, and soon.